Home About IEF Conferences Newsletter Resources 2ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FORUM de Poort, The Netherlands, 7 November 1998

The 2nd General Assembly of the International Environment Forum was held in de Poort, the Netherlands, on 7 November 1998, with 11 participants from Australia, China, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and USA. In addition, 31 electronic participants from most continents also had the opportunity to participate in the assembly discussions (see conference report for names of participants). From these on site and on line participants 30 were voting members who could participate in the election. A full list of voting members is given below in Annex 1. The annual report of the Forum is given in Annex 2.

1. The General Assembly was opened by the President of the Environment Forum, Arthur Dahl.

2. Officers of the meeting: In view of the small group there was no formal election of chairman and secretary. The officers of the governing board, Arthur Dahl and Sylvia Karlsson, were requested to serve in those capacities respectively.

3. The agenda was agreed upon.

4. Annual report: The General Secretary presented the Annual Report from the governing board (see Annex 2). In the consultation that followed the question was raised whether English was the official language of the Forum. There is nothing in the draft statutes saying which language should be used, and as resources grow we can make materials and meetings available in more languages.

5. Name: The recent letter from the Universal House of Justice states: 'it is suggested you choose a name for the organization which conveys an image of its area of concern, but does not include the word "Bahá'í".'

The board had considered many possible names, and narrowed the list down to five:
- One World Environment Forum
- Environment Forum
- World Unity Environment Forum
- International Environment Forum
- Environment Forum for World Civilisation

It encouraged voting members participating electronically to send in their ranking of these names in order of preference, as a contribution to the discussion. After the members present at the General Assembly also had given their preferences, and after consultation, the decision was taken in favor of "International Environment Forum" as the name with the widest support. This therefore becomes the official name of the organization.

6. Discussion on activities and priorities:

Networking: The assembly was advised that there is a Bahá'í list server on the environment, managed by Bud Polk. We should look into sharing information with them.

There is a mailing list for youth interested in human rights in Europe which should also receive some information on the Forum.

There is need for a webpage and it is possible to have a page which several people manage.

We should bring the spiritual principles from the teachings on the environment, and share them with our communities. Bahá'í communities should be models that reflect that. All Bahá'ís in a community are responsible for the education of children and the whole community should in the same way be responsible for adopting good environmental practices. We should be actively promoting this by producing materials on several levels. We do not have to wait to be asked to do things. We have a structure to work with in the Bahá'í community.

The board could have a review process for materials and make a toolkit available at a web site and through other means. One example to include could be the "environmental footprint" approach and how to use it as an awareness developing process, while identifying the Bahá'í principles involved.

We should have regional meetings, if there are enough people in one region.

Environment is a good subject when it is not possible to teach the Faith directly; the subject is more accepted than religion.

We could identify volunteer speakers and what topics they are offering to talk on.

Annual fee: The specific fees will need to be determined by the board. Recommendations were made that there should be either several levels of fees, for different categories (student, unemployed, professional, etc) where people can chose which level they should pay, or have a fixed fee but with a way to appeal to the board for a reduced fee in special circumstances. It is important that we have some incentive for people to become members; becoming members will also raise the commitment of people to contribute actively.

We should make an inventory of what Bahá'ís have done on the environment from the grassroots to the policy level.

A top priority will be to produce a pamphlet on the Forum, develop a logo, etc.

We should have a four colour brochure on the environment (like the ones on education and socio-economic development printed in the UK).

We could develop materials for educating families to "live more lightly on the earth" e.g. by using the footprint approach.

We should develop materials for training the trainers in communities, that could be used in the Bahá'í institutes.

One member offered to help in developing the institute materials. Another member will send in the materials he develops in February for a workshop. One member offered his skills to write.

The point was raised that it is good if the annotated directory indicate who is a Bahá'í and who is not.

7. Election of the board: Out of the 30 voting members, 16 votes were cast, 9 via email and 7 on site. The board that was elected consists of (in alphabetical order):
Irma Allen, Swaziland
Arthur Dahl, Switzerland
Les Gornall, Northern Ireland
Sylvia Karlsson, Sweden,
Tahereh Nadarajah, Mongolia

(Note: Michael Richards was elected but had informed the board, in view of being away in the rainforests of Ghana for the coming 6 weeks and not having communication facilities there, that in the event of being elected, he wished to step down. We took the next number of votes on the list, where three people were tied, and held a runoff vote among these three. As a result, Tahereh Nadarajah was elected.)

Peter Adriance, USA
Irma Acosta Allen, Swaziland
Martino Alvaro, France
Maxwell Ayamba, United Kingdom
Aaron Arthur Blomeley, Taiwan
Lloyd D. S. Brown, China
Cecil E Cook, South Africa
Arthur Dahl, Switzerland
R. Ken Dunsworth, Canada
Amanda Felipe, United Kingdom
Richard W. Fisher, Bolivia
Les Gornall, Northern Ireland
Eva Hildorsson, Sweden
Tom Hodges, USA
Nigel Jollands, New Zealand
Janne Mikael Karimaki, Finland
Sylvia Karlsson, Sweden
Tomas Linsel, Slovakia
Paul Maloney, Canada
Keith A. Metzner, U.S.A.
Jean Marie Moutoir, France
Tahereh Nadarajah(Djafari), Mongolia
Paul Ojermark, Vietnam
Jan Quik, Surinam
Hamid Rastegar, USA
Michael Richards, England, UK
Melinda Salazar, USA
Marjorie Barbara Schreuder, The Netherlands
Richard Scott Sherwood, Czech Republic
Ebenezer Tabot-Tabot, Denmark

FIRST ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND FORMATION

The first International Bahá'í Environment Conference at de Poort, Netherlands, in October 1997 gathered 20 people from nine countries, who were joined electronically by 58 people from 21 countries participating in the e-mail version of the conference. It consulted on the objectives, activities and structure of the proposed organization and adopted draft statutes. The First General Assembly of the Environment Forum was then held and a governing board of five people was elected, which then elected its own officers. The governing board consists of: Irma Allen, Swaziland; Arthur Dahl, Switzerland (President); Les Gornall, Northern Ireland(Treasurer); Sylvia Karlsson, Sweden (General Secretary); and Michael Richards, United Kingdom.

GOVERNING BOARD

Meetings: Since the board members reside in countries far apart, all board meetings have been conducted electronically via e-mail. In the first six months, consultations were carried out continuously over e-mail, without specific meeting dates. Then a more organized structure for the consultations started with demarcated meetings lasting 4-10 days to allow ample consultation, where formal minutes were taken. Though such meetings can never fully replace face to face consultations, the board feels that it has been learning to make good use of the situation. The president and the general secretary had several opportunities to meet for informal consultations and planning detailed work. Between meetings, frequent e-mail contact was maintained within the board for issues that needed immediate attention. The board has continuously kept the Office of Social and Economic Development in Haifa, and the Bahá'í International Community's Office of the Environment in New York, informed of its plans and activities. The minutes of all meetings of the board are sent to them directly.

The board has had the following formal meetings in 1998: 1-5 May; 2-7 July; 27-31 August (extended), and 1-10 October.

Meeting attendance: Irma Allen (3 of 4); Arthur Dahl (4 of 4); Les Gornall (2 of 4); Sylvia Karlsson (4 of 4); Michael Richards (3 of 4).

ACTIONS

The first concern of the board has been to seek further guidance from the Baha'i World Center on if and how the Environment Forum could be linked to the Bahá'í Administrative Order. After receiving a letter from the Office of Social and Economic Development (dated 23 February 1998) the board worked on a revision of the statutes. This was sent, with a letter asking the Universal House of Justice for advice, on 3 June 1998. Pending further guidance on the appropriate structure and status of the organization, the board decided not to take a final decision on a name for the organization, nor to seek formal registration as an international non-governmental organization. On 15 September 1998, a reply was received from the Universal House of Justice, the supreme body of the Bahá'í Faith. It encouraged the work, and described our decision to set up the organization as a Bahá'í-inspired non-governmental organization as "a wise one". For more detailed guidance on the Statutes, the Office of Social and Economic Development was asked by the House of Justice to provide this.

CORRESPONDENCE

Incoming letters: (the large majority e-mails) have reached to more than 150.

Outgoing letters: (the large majority e-mails) have reached more than 120. Topics of correspondence with individuals have covered such subjects as: enquiries about the Environment Forum, requests for material on Bahá'í environmental projects to be used in specific public information events, requests for suggestions of speakers for public events, requests that we get in touch with specific prominent persons who are interested in the field, requests for results of the first annual conference, information on the second annual conference.

INFORMATION

The board has sent out information to every one who have shown interest in the Environment Forum on the following dates: 18 April, 9 June, 12 August, 20 September, 13 October, 19 October, 25 October and 5 November. The announcement for the 2nd International Conference of the Environment Forum was sent out to all National Spiritual Assemblies, as well as a number of Bahá'í electronic mailing lists.

CONTACT WITH OTHER ORGANISATIONS

One of the major objectives of the Environment Forum is to interact with other non-governmental organizations and so be able to share ideas, etc. Not much has been done by the board in this regard since it was felt that it was essential that our name and administrative structure should be clarified before we reach out for contacts on a broader basis. However, upon recommendation from the European Bahá'í Business Forum's General Secretary, we have established a first contact with the Social Venture Network Europe, which is a network for businesses interested in environment, to be followed-up later. A major effort in this direction is however the invitation of representatives from prominent Dutch NGOs to the 2nd annual conference.

Collaboration with other Bahá'í inspired associations: Frequent communication and exchange of information with the European Bahá'í Business Forum has taken place. Contact has also been established with the International Society for Agriculture and Rural Development. UNIDA, a Bahá'í-inspired association from South America is now on our sendout list, and they have asked for information on how to become members as an organization. Formal membership will be discussed when our administrative structure is definite.

PUBLICATIONS

Several requests that we have received from individuals show that there is a definite need for published materials to be produced. A first introductory brochure about the Environment Forum, describing its aims and structure, was prepared for distribution at the ISARD (International Society for Agriculture and Rural Development) and ABS (Association for Baha'i Studies) conference, Oxford (UK), 31 October-1 November 1998.

MEMBERSHIP STATISTICS

During the year around 100 people have been on the list of the Environment Forum. The numbers fluctuate as new people are added and others change their e-mail addresses and we lose contact with them. To prepare for the process of having formal members, identifying voting members for the second annual General Assembly and the election of the governing board, and eventually collecting membership dues, a questionnaire was developed and distributed in August 1998. As of October 4, 37 people from 23(!) countries on five continents (and islands in the Pacific) have submitted completed questionnaires. Out of these 26 wish to be voting members.

CONCLUSIONS

The Environment Forum is still in a formative period, but is poised to move ahead as soon as its statutes are finalized. The international electronic networking that it is establishing among its members shows considerable potential to strengthen our actions for the environment and sustainable development around the world. There is also considerable potential to use the Forum to bring Baha'i approaches and concepts to a wider circle of organizations and people of capacity. This can only happen if more people are willing to commit some time to the development of the Environment Forum as an instrument for service, as encouraged by the Universal House of Justice.